Hoopla Powers Local Libraries to Lend You Video, Music and Audiobooks for Free

You are probably already familiar with digital lending services like Netflix, but are you wondering what all the hoopla is about?Hoopla Digital is an electronic borrowing service that lets you instantly stream or download movies, videos, music and audiobooks for free (with access to a library card) to watch on your smartphone, tablet or computer.

The Netflix-like service is set to go live by the end of December and is aiming to become your virtual library with over 25 public library systems already participating nationwide. Hoopla has all the benefits of a library without having to wait to borrow items or pay any late fees since all media is automatically returned after 72 hours.

Meet Hoopla

Barbara Gubbin, director of the Jacksonville Public Library in Florida, just started using the service. She told Jackosnville.com that providing access to information was a key priority. “Customers want information to be available to them anytime, anywhere and in a format they can access easily,” Gubbin said.”It’s important to us that we stay current with the technology our customers most want to use.”

The Hoopla platform was designed specifically for library customers from the start and will offer a simultaneous checkout feature so that any number of people can borrow the same movie, media or audiobook at the same time.

“I think it will be awesome… Sometimes when I want to check out a DVD or audio book, all of the copies are already gone,” said Karly Slocum, a patron of the Jacksonville library.

As of now there are 300,000 titles available through Hoopla, a collection that is continually expanding based on what movie studios and other labels choose to make available. Typically it will cost a library between 99 cents to $2.99 per checkout. Each time a person borrows content the library will float Hoopla the fee.